Traditionally, acrylic acid has been generally obtained based on fossil fuel as it is yielded from acrolein obtained from propylene. However, with environmental-friendly issues being treated importantly in the overall industrial environment relating to high oil prices and resource depletion problems, demands for developing environmental-friendly new processes based on biomass have increased in acrylic acid preparation as well, and this has been utilized in various forms across all industries.
For example, WO 2008/092115, an existing document in the art, describes allyl alcohol derived from glycerol, a byproduct of bio-diesel processes, and when acrylic acid is produced from the allyl alcohol, glycerol and bio-diesel can be economically utilized.
With such a recent trend, studies of various kinds on biomass-based acrylic acid process have been actively conducted. Particularly, proposes of various kinds have been made for various catalysts involving a ‘glycerol-allyl alcohol-acrylic acid’ formation path, one of representative biomass-based acrylic acid production reactions. For example, a series of proposes have been made in order to enhance a synthesis yield and synthesis reproducibility of each step, and in this regard, a method of enhancing a production yield of acrylic acid from allyl alcohol using a catalyst having a form including gold (Au) in a metal oxide support as a catalyst active site has been proposed.
With the catalyst, reproducibility and the like of reactions producing acrylic acid from allyl alcohol is enhanced and a production yield of the acrylic acid is enhanced by a maximum of half as well. However, in order to increase the industrial utility, higher level of acrylic acid selectivity and more enhanced acrylic acid production yield therefrom are still required.